Books like 'Defending Jacob'

Readers who enjoyed Defending Jacob by William Landay also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

contemporary  mystery  psychological  thriller  crime  suspense  legal  drama  family  bullying 

  • Life of Crime by Kimberley Chambers

    Life of Crime by Kimberley Chambers

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    If you could get away with the perfect crime - would you? HEAVEN HAS NO RAGE, LIKE LOVE TO HATRED TURNED.NOR HELL A FURY, LIKE A WOMAN SCORNED...
  • 聖母 by Rikako Akiyoshi, 秋吉理香子

    聖母 by Rikako Akiyoshi, 秋吉理香子

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    ...
  • Lost Angels by Stacy Green

    Lost Angels by Stacy Green

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    When Special Agent Nikki Hunt is called to the Boundary Waters near Stillwater, Minnesota, it’s not just the cold that shocks her to her core: the body of a young woman has been found frozen beside a remote lake...
    Categorized as:
    crime  dark  family  law-enforcement  suspense  thriller  adult  book
  • One Among Us by Paige Dearth

    One Among Us by Paige Dearth

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    A kidnapped girl is forced into human sex trafficking Eleven- year-old Maggie Clarke is abducted from her loving family and thrust into the indescribably horrific and largely unknown underworld of human sex trafficking. In captivity, Maggie's life turns into a nightmare most children couldn't imagine...
    Categorized as:
    crime  dark  drama  family  realistic  suspense  true-crime  thriller
  • The Patient's Secret by Loreth Anne White

    The Patient's Secret by Loreth Anne White

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Secrets worth dying―and killing―for, in a novel of suspense inspired by a horrific true crime by Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author Loreth Anne White...
  • Fifty-Fifty by Steve Cavanagh

    Fifty-Fifty by Steve Cavanagh

    Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    Alexandra Avellino has just found her father's mutilated body, and needs the police right away. She believes her sister killed him, and that she is still in the house with a knife. Sofia Avellino has just found her father's mutilated body and needs the police right away. She believes her sister, Alexandra did it, and that she is still in the house, locked in the bathroom...
    Categorized as:
    crime  legal  realistic  suspense  thriller  adult  audiobook  book
  • The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

    The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 44 ratings
    Mickey Haller has spent all his professional life afraid that he wouldn’t recognize innocence if it stood right in front of him. But what he should have been on the watch for was evil.Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car, traveling between the far-flung courthouses of Los Angeles to defend clients of every kind...
  • Truth and Lies by Caroline Mitchell

    Truth and Lies by Caroline Mitchell

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Meet Amy Winter: Detective Inspector, daughter of a serial killer.DI Amy Winter is hoping to follow in the footsteps of her highly respected police officer father. But when a letter arrives from the prison cell of Lillian Grimes, one half of a notorious husband-and-wife serial-killer team, it contains a revelation that will tear her life apart...
    Categorized as:
    crime  dark  drama  family  law-enforcement  suspense  thriller  adult
  • Primal Fear by William Diehl

    Primal Fear by William Diehl

    Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars
    · 21 ratings
    Martin Vail, the brilliant "bad-boy" lawyer every prosecutor and politician love to hate, is defending Aaron Stampler, a man found holding a bloody butcher's knife near a murdered archbishop...
  • In the Dark by Cara Hunter

    In the Dark by Cara Hunter

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Do you know what they’re hiding in the house next door?A woman and child are found locked in a basement, barely alive, and unidentifiable: the woman can’t speak, there are no missing persons reports that match their profile, and the confused, elderly man who owns the house claims he has never seen them before...
  • The Stepchild by Nicole Trope

    The Stepchild by Nicole Trope

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Three-year-old Millie Everleigh disappears on a crisp winter’s day, and nothing is as it seems…It’s the phone call every mother dreads.I’m climbing into the car after a trip to the grocery store. As the engine starts, my phone rings. It’s my stepdaughter, Shelby, who is babysitting my three-year-old little girl Millie.‘I only went upstairs for a second,’ she says through her sobs. ‘She’s gone...
  • And So It Begins by Rachel Abbott

    And So It Begins by Rachel Abbott

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Mark and Evie had a whirlwind romance. Evie brought Mark back to life after the sudden death of his first wife. Cleo, Mark's sister, knows she should be happy for him. But Cleo doesn't trust Evie...When Evie starts having accidents at home, her friends grow concerned...
  • All That Is Mine I Carry with Me by William Landay

    All That Is Mine I Carry with Me by William Landay

    Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    A mother vanished. A father presumed guilty. There is no proof. There are no witnesses. For the children, there is only doubt. From the New York Times bestselling author of Defending Jacob. . . .One afternoon in November 1975, ten-year-old Miranda Larkin comes home from school to find her house eerily quiet. Her mother is missing. Nothing else is out of place. There is no sign of struggle...
  • Juste une ombre by Karine Giébel

    Juste une ombre by Karine Giébel

    Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Cloé Beauchamp est une jeune femme à qui tout semble réussir; belle, brillante, sur le point d'être nommée à la tête d'une prestigieuse agence de publicité... Et amoureuse, depuis peu, d'un homme charmant. Elle cache à la perfection ses failles et les horreurs qui ont jalonné son passé. Mais lentement, sa vie va se transformer en cauchemar...
  • The Ex-Wife by Jess Ryder

    The Ex-Wife by Jess Ryder

    Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    You’ve got everything she wants …Newly married Natasha has the perfect house, a loving husband and a beautiful little girl called Emily. She’d have it all if it wasn’t for Jen, her husband’s ex-wife who just won’t leave them alone …Then Natasha returns home one day to find her husband and Emily gone without trace...
    Categorized as:
    crime  drama  family  suspense  thriller  adult  audiobook  book
  • Found by Erin Kinsley

    Found by Erin Kinsley

    Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    When 11 year old Evan vanishes without trace, his parents are plunged into their worst nightmare.Especially as the police, under massive pressure, have no answers. But months later Evan is unexpectedly found, frightened and refusing to speak. His loving family realise life will never be the same again.DI Naylor knows that unless those who took Evan are caught, other children are in danger...
    Categorized as:
    crime  drama  family  law-enforcement  legal  suspense  thriller  adult
  • Turning Angel by Greg Iles

    Turning Angel by Greg Iles

    Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    After winning the most dangerous case of his career, prosecutor Penn Cage decides to remain in his Southern hometown to raise his young daughter in a safe haven. But nowhere is truly safe -- not from long-buried secrets, or murder....When the nude body of prep school student Kate Townsend is found near the Mississippi River, Penn's best friend, Drew Elliott, is desperate for his counsel...
    Categorized as:
    crime  dark  drama  family  law-enforcement  legal  suspense  thriller
  • A Lovely Lie by Jaime Lynn Hendricks

    A Lovely Lie by Jaime Lynn Hendricks

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Is it better to believe a lovely lie or know the horrible truth?1999: The night of their senior picnic, Scarlett Russo and her best friend Pepper were involved in a car accident that left two of their classmates dead. Afterward, they lied to the police, protecting each other from the consequences...
    Categorized as:
    suspense  crime  thriller  secrets  family  mystery  fiction  audiobook
  • Things We Never Say by Caitlin Weaver

    Things We Never Say by Caitlin Weaver

    Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Three mothers. Three secrets. One devastating scandal.Anna has always been the quiet one, the soft-spoken mother who kept her head down and her secrets close. But when she's thrown together with Maggie and Rhea on a PTA project, they begin to bond over wine and gossip, and slowly share the truths behind their picture-perfect lives...
  • One Little Mistake by Emma Curtis

    One Little Mistake by Emma Curtis

    Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Vicky Seagrave is blessed: three beautiful children, a successful, doting husband, great friends and a job she loves. She should be perfectly happy. When she risks everything she holds dear on a whim, there's only person she trusts enough to turn to. But Vicky is about to learn that one mistake is all it takes; that if you're careless with those you love, you don't deserve to keep them . .
  • The Competition by Marcia Clark

    The Competition by Marcia Clark

    Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    In Marcia Clark's most electrifying thriller yet, Los Angeles District Attorney Rachel Knight investigates a horrifying high school massacre. A Columbine-style shooting at a high school in the San Fernando Valley has left a community shaken to its core. Two students are identified as the killers. Both are dead, believed to have committed a mutual suicide...
  • Closer Than You Know by Brad Parks

    Closer Than You Know by Brad Parks

    Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Brad Parks delivers another riveting, emotionally powerful stand-alone domestic suspense thriller perfect for fans of The Couple Next Door and What She Knew.Disaster, Melanie Barrick was once told, is always closer than you know.It was a lesson she learned the hard way growing up in the constant upheaval of foster care...
    Categorized as:
    crime  drama  family  legal  suspense  thriller  adult  audiobook
  • The Halo Effect by Anne D. LeClaire

    The Halo Effect by Anne D. LeClaire

    Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    In this tour de force, a father, shaken by tragedy, tries to avenge his daughter’s murder—and restore his family’s shattered life. It was supposed to be a typical October evening for renowned portrait artist Will Light...
    Categorized as:
    crime  drama  family  literary-fiction  suspense  thriller  adult  book
  • Here Lies Daniel Tate by Cristin Terrill

    Here Lies Daniel Tate by Cristin Terrill

    Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    A young, street-savvy runaway looking for a place to call home realizes he might have conned his way into the wrong family in this fast-paced and thrilling novel from award-winning author Cristin Terrill.When ten-year-old Daniel Tate went missing from one of California's most elite communities, he left no trace. He simply vanished...
  • The Darkest Flower by Kristin Wright

    The Darkest Flower by Kristin Wright

    Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    You’ll never believe the terrible things being said about the perfect president of the PTA. Attempted murder? Inexplicable accident? Either way, a PTA mom struggled for her life in an elementary school cafeteria, poisoned by wolfsbane. Now all eyes are on the accused, the victim, and a woman hired to look deeper...
    Categorized as:
    crime  drama  family  law-enforcement  legal  suspense  thriller  adult
  • The Friend by Teresa Driscoll

    The Friend by Teresa Driscoll

    Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    On a train with her husband, miles from home and their four-year-old son, Ben, Sophie receives a chilling phone call. Two boys are in hospital after a tragic accident. One of them is Ben.She thought she could trust Emma, her new friend, to look after her little boy. After all, Emma’s a kindred spirit—someone Sophie was sure she could bare her soul to, despite the village rumours...
    Categorized as:
    crime  drama  family  law-enforcement  suspense  thriller  abuse  adult
  • The Ones We Choose by Julie Clark

    The Ones We Choose by Julie Clark

    Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Lisa Genova meets 23andMe in this exploration of the genetic and emotional ties that bind, as debut author Julie Clark delivers a compelling read about a young boy desperate to find his place in this world, a mother coming to terms with her own past, and the healing power of forgiveness...
  • The Woods by Harlan Coben

    The Woods by Harlan Coben

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 40 ratings
    Twenty years ago at summer camp, Paul Copeland's sister died in the woods, the alleged victim of a serial killer. Her body was never found. Now, Paul is the prosecutor for Essex County, New Jersey, immersed in one of the biggest cases of his career-a case that will change everything he believes about the past...and the truth...
    Categorized as:
    crime  dark  drama  family  law-enforcement  legal  secrets  suspense
  • Her Perfect Family by Teresa Driscoll

    Her Perfect Family by Teresa Driscoll

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 28 ratings
    A gripping psychological thriller from the bestselling author of I Am Watching You. The perfect family? Or the perfect lie?It’s their daughter’s graduation and Rachel and Ed Hartley are expecting it to be one of their family’s happiest days...
  • One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf

    One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 25 ratings
    In her most emotionally charged novel to date, New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf explores the unspoken events that shape a community, the ties between parents and their children and how the fragile normalcy of our everyday life is so easily shattered.In the midst of a sudden spring snowstorm, an unknown man armed with a gun walks into an elementary school classroom...
  • The Back Road by Rachel Abbott

    The Back Road by Rachel Abbott

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    In a quiet country village, secrets abound.When a young girl, Abbie Campbell, is knocked over and left for dead on the back road of the village of Little Melham, waves of shock ripple through the small community and a chain of events, which threatens to expose long-kept secrets, is triggered...
  • The Family by Martina Cole

    The Family by Martina Cole

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Phillip Murphy is a family man. He worships his old mum; he takes care of his siblings who help run his business empire; he dotes on his two young sons who will one day take over. And then there's his wife and saviour Christine, whom he loves with a vengeance. To Phillip Murphy, family is everything.Christine has always understood this about her husband...
  • A Conflict of Interest by Adam Mitzner

    A Conflict of Interest by Adam Mitzner

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Alex Miller is a criminal defense attorney and, at thirty-five, the youngest partner in one of the most powerful law firms in New York City. He's a man at the top of his game with the life he's always dreamed of, complete with a devoted wife, who remains patient with his long hours and high-stakes cases, and the love of a beautiful young daughter...
  • I Made a Mistake by Jane Corry

    I Made a Mistake by Jane Corry

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    IT STARTED WITH A KISS... AND ENDED WITH MURDER. The darkly addictive new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of I Looked Away, Blood Sisters and My Husband's Wife. --------------------------------------------------------In Poppy Page's mind, there are two types of women in this world: those who are faithful to their husbands, and those who are not...
    Categorized as:
    crime  drama  family  suspense  thriller  adult  audiobook  book
  • Eden by Candice Fox

    Eden by Candice Fox

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    'I fool myself that Eden has a heart – that she would at least have trouble killing me...'Most police duos run on trust, loyalty, and the desire to see killers in court. But Detective Frank Bennett's partner, the enigmatic Eden Archer, has nothing to offer him but darkness and danger. She doesn't mind catching killers – but it's not the courthouse where her justice is served...
  • The Last Good Girl: A Novel by Allison Leotta

    The Last Good Girl: A Novel by Allison Leotta

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    From Allison Leotta, the “highly entertaining storyteller” (George Pelecanos) who writes “in a style that’s as real as it gets” (USA TODAY), a ripped-from-the-headlines novel featuring prosecutor Anna Curtis at the center of a national story involving campus rape and the disappearance of a young woman.Emma, a freshman at a Michigan university, has gone missing...
    Categorized as:
    crime  drama  family  law-enforcement  legal  suspense  thriller  adult
  • The Quiet People: The nerve-shredding, twisty MUST-READ bestseller by Paul Cleave

    The Quiet People: The nerve-shredding, twisty MUST-READ bestseller by Paul Cleave

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    "A cinematic, raging, rollercoaster of a plot with a wry humour … The Quiet People is wildly entertaining and will keep you guessing right to the end." — New Zealand Herald"A superb novel from a champion storyteller." — Crime Watch"Cleave writes the kind of dark, intense thrillers that I never want to end. Do yourself a favour and check him out...
  • No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay

    No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay

    Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars
    · 28 ratings
    Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge woke one morning to discover that her entire family, mother, father, brother had vanished. No note, no trace, no return. Ever. Now, twenty-five years later, she'll learn the devastating truthSometimes better not to know. . . Cynthia is happily married with a young daughter, a new family. But the story of her old family isn't over...
  • Whisper Me This by Kerry Anne King

    Whisper Me This by Kerry Anne King

    Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars
    · 28 ratings
    Single mother Maisey Addington has always fallen short of her own mother’s expectations—never married, a bit adrift, wasting her high IQ on dead-end jobs. The only thing Maisey’s sure she’s gotten right is her relationship with her twelve-year-old daughter, Elle…until a phone call blows apart the precarious balance of their lives...
  • The Damage by Caitlin Wahrer

    The Damage by Caitlin Wahrer

    Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    When a small-town family is pushed to the brink, how far will they go to protect one of their own? An edgy, propulsive read about what we will do in the name of love and bloodTony has always looked out for his younger brother, Nick...
  • Working Fire by Emily Bleeker

    Working Fire by Emily Bleeker

    Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    From the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of When I’m Gone comes a compelling novel of a bond between sisters, tested by tragedy…Ellie Brown thought she’d finally escaped her stifling hometown of Broadlands, Illinois; med school was supposed to be her ticket out...
  • The Forgotten Ones by Steena Holmes

    The Forgotten Ones by Steena Holmes

    Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    A spellbinding novel about an unspeakable secret that could destroy a family, from the New York Times bestselling author of Finding Emma. Elle is a survivor. She’s managed to piece together a solid life from a childhood of broken memories and fairy tales her mom told her to explain away bad dreams. But weekly visits to her mother still fill Elle with a paralyzing fear she can’t explain...
  • Three Sisters by O.J. Mullen, Owen Mullen

    Three Sisters by O.J. Mullen, Owen Mullen

    Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    One chance meeting. A night that changes everything.The Kennedy sisters, Molly, Alex and Sam, have a Christmas tradition – a night out, just the three of them, sisters together.Lewis Stone can’t face the work Christmas party, but as he’s one of the bosses, he has to put in an appearance. He leaves as soon as he can politely get away, ready for the holidays to begin...
  • The Secrets Mothers Keep by Jacquie Underdown

    The Secrets Mothers Keep by Jacquie Underdown

    Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    In the enchanting landscapes of Tasmania, "The Secrets Mothers Keep" unravels a captivating tale of three generations bound by a shared purpose—to restore the family manor into a charming bed and breakfast. But beneath the surface lies a lifetime of concealed truths that threaten to tear them apart...
  • Safe by S.K. Barnett

    Safe by S.K. Barnett

    Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    A kidnapped girl survived twelve nightmarish years.Now she's safely back home . . . or is she?Jenny Kristal was six years old when she was snatched off the sidewalk from her quiet suburban neighborhood. Twelve years later, she's miraculously returned home after escaping her kidnappers—but as her parents and younger brother welcome her back, the questions begin to mount...
  • Stolen by Rebecca Muddiman

    Stolen by Rebecca Muddiman

    Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    When Abby Henshaw is brutally attacked by two strangers in the countryside, her first thought is for the safety of her baby daughter, Beth. But what follows is a mother’s worst nightmare: Beth is gone and Abby's world collapses around her.As DI Michael Gardner begins to investigate Abby and her family, he discovers lives built on secrets and betrayals...
  • Last One to Lie by J.M. Winchester

    Last One to Lie by J.M. Winchester

    Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Moving to a new city was supposed to be a fresh start for her family. Now it’s a nightmare. Her little girl was supposed to be at day care when Kelsey arrived to pick her up. But they have no record of her daughter ever being there. And to make matters worse, her husband is missing too—he won’t pick up his phone, and the school he supposedly works at says he never accepted their job offer...
    Categorized as:
    crime  dark  drama  suspense  thriller  adult  audiobook  book
  • The Choice by Susan Lewis

    The Choice by Susan Lewis

    Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Sometimes the choice is too hard to bear...Nikki Grant is only twenty-one when she discovers she's pregnant. Despite her parents' disappointment and anger, she welcomes the news with joy. The baby will complete the happy home she shares with the man she adores, Spencer James. Baby Zac arrives and is perfect in every way...
  • Her One Mistake by Heidi Perks

    Her One Mistake by Heidi Perks

    Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    What should have been a fun-filled, carefree day takes a tragic turn for the worse for one mother when her best friend’s child goes missing in this suspenseful, compulsively readable, and darkly twisted psychological thriller. It all started at the school fair…Charlotte was supposed to be looking after the children, and she swears she was. She only took her eyes off of them for one second...
    Categorized as:
    crime  dark  drama  family  realistic  secrets  suspense  thriller
  • Silent Victim by Caroline Mitchell

    Silent Victim by Caroline Mitchell

    Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    Emma’s darkest secrets are buried in the past. But the truth can’t stay hidden for long.Emma is a loving wife, a devoted mother…and an involuntary killer. For years she’s been hiding the dead body of the teacher who seduced her as a teen.It’s a secret that might have stayed buried if only her life had been less perfect...
    Categorized as:
    crime  dark  drama  family  realistic  suspense  thriller  adult
Fantastic book recommendations by book lovers for book lovers.
Find out more about thebooknaut.com.



Looking for more inspiration? Enter another book title to get more suggestions on what to read next.


Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.